Carter's Medal
by rond1101953
Summary: Jack has concerns when Carter is to receive a medal after the events of Fail Safe.


CARTER'S MEDAL

Major Carter was getting a medal.

Colonel Jack O'Neill walked down the corridor of the SGC in a rotten mood. He didn't know why he was in such a rotten mood, he just was. Disturbed. Disgruntled. He headed down to Daniel's office. Maybe he'd feel better there. Daniel always had a way of making him, well, not better, but different. And since he was in such a rotten mood, different had to be better.

Doctor Daniel Jackson was indeed in his office looking absorbed in some photographs, which Jack guessed were the chicken scratchings SG-6 had brought back from PCR-237. He didn't even look up as Jack entered the lab. Nevertheless, he began to speak.

"How was your meeting with Hammond?"

"Oh, you know, same old, same old." Jack picked up a pot and fiddled with it. "Carter's getting a medal."

"Yeah, I know."

"Yeah? How can you know before I do?"

"Sam told me. Would you please put that down?" Daniel glared at him.

At least he had his full attention. Fiddling with artifacts always worked with Daniel. He sighed and put the pot down. It wasn't such a good one, as pots go, sunk in on one side. "You OK with that?"

Daniel looked up over his glasses at him, frowning. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. Something feels hinky."

"Hinky?"

"Wrong."

"Wrong?"

"Daniel!"

"Jack?"

Jack just glared at him until Daniel dropped his eyes. Daniel was no match for the patented O'Neill glare...sometimes.

Daniel picked up the pot Jack had been juggling and turned it over in his hands. "You don't think she deserves a medal? Earth would have been wiped out if she hadn't have done what she did."

"I know."

"You know. So what's wrong with it?"

"I don't know. That's why I came here, for you to tell me."

Now it was Daniel's turn to heave a sigh. "Well, I've got nothing for you. Sam was just in here before you, absolutely beaming. She's very excited, so take your hinky feelings somewhere else. And don't take them to Sam and bring her down. You know Earth wouldn't be here, hell, we wouldn't be here without her. So just let her have her day." His eyes grew wide for a moment. "Is that it? Are you jealous you're not getting a medal, too?"

Jack jerked back as if Daniel had slapped him. "Hell, no! I can't believe you even said that! Anyway, it's not even an official military medal, just one made up by the senior senator of the great state of Virginia. Guess he was on some committee that let him know Carter had been instrumental in saving the planet, and she was born in Virginia."

"Oh, so it doesn't count." Daniel's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Jack knew he would get no sympathy from the man. Maybe Teal'c would give him satisfaction.

"Just means we won't be going off-world to that little planet you've been drooling over for the past month."

Daniel gave him a wry grin. "I can wait a couple of days, Jack. And since it looks like a desert, you can wait a few days as well."

"Well, Daniel, didn't know you thought about my welfare these days."

A brief shadow passed over Daniel's face, and Jack regretted his choice of words. The past few months hadn't been the easiest between them. He saved Daniel from having to say anything by walking out the door with a "Catch you later" that he hoped sounded casual. Yeah, the last few months hadn't been too kind to Daniel and him. Mostly his fault, though. The most recent example was the disastrous mission to Revanna. The Tok'ra had nearly been wiped out. Elliott had sacrificed himself for all of them, poor bastard. And Daniel-Daniel had come back with the poison. _With the poison_, which meant he hadn't successfully killed the Goa'uld system lords. They were still alive, while Elliott and Major Mansfield's squad were dead. It had infuriated him. Daniel in his ridiculous slave attire was helping Jacob walk to the homing beacon, looking just peachy. And Jack hadn't even been grateful that his friend was alive. When Daniel pulled out the vial that contained the symbiote poison, Jack had felt his blood pressure rise. So much so that he pushed all thoughts of Daniel out of his mind, afraid he would say or do something he'd regret. Instead, his neglect had caused regret. They had spent the night huddled in the forest, unable to build a fire to ease the bone-crushing cold lest a Jaffa patrol spot it. Daniel had sensed Jack's anger or disappointment or whatever it was and had stayed in the periphery of the action. It wasn't until the next morning, when Teal'c was still maintaining watch that Jack had realized how neglectful he was. Anger at himself had translated into lashing out at Teal'c for not waking Daniel for his turn at watch. Teal'c said nothing but had given Jack a look that brooked no argument. Only then had he noticed that Teal'c had given his jacket to Daniel. They had all been freezing and Daniel had little clothing on, something that Jack had tried not to dwell on. He hadn't even offered Daniel his own jacket. Teal'c's disapproving frown had quelled Jack's anger and awakened his sense of guilt. Learning Daniel had walked hours back to the gate with cracked ribs had added more weight to his guilt.

Even with his guilt, Jack hadn't apologized to Daniel nor to Hammond, who had seemed a bit shocked that Jack hadn't caught on to Daniel's condition. Instead the guilt had just festered, seeping out in ways Jack had never intended nor wanted. It just got worse and worse and the more days that went by, the less Jack saw an appropriate time to talk to Daniel about it.

And that brought him up to the mission in question, the mission that forced Jack to relive his failures and the deaths of old colleagues and newly commissioned cadets. Elliott. He had liked the kid and thought he had some damn good potential to become a fine leader. Might have found himself the leader of an SG team. Now he was dead on his first trip through the gate.

Best not to dwell, Jack told himself as he knocked on Teal'c's door. No answer.

"Sir?"

Jack blinked at the sergeant. Damned if he didn't look younger than Elliott. "Sergeant?"

The boy stood ramrod straight. "Sir, Mr. Teal'c is in the gym, sir, if you're looking for him, sir."

It had been awhile since Jack had heard so many 'sirs' directed at him in such a short span of time. "Why, thank you, sergeant..." he peered at the man's name tag "Sinclair. Your deductive skills will be duly noted."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Sinclair snapped to a salute.

Jack returned it and went scowling toward the gymnasium. Teal'c was indeed there, surrounded by a group of marines, who were getting a bruising lesson in hand-to-hand Jaffa combat. Teal'c took one look at Jack's face and told his students to practice among themselves. He grabbed a towel and made his way to where Jack was standing.

"How are they shaping up?"

"Their skill level is adequate to the amount of time they have spent training."

Jack sometimes marveled how adept Teal'c was at answering a question without saying anything.

The silence lengthened between them. "You wished to speak to me, O'Neill?"

"Well, yeah. Just wondering whether..." Jack hesitated. Why had he come, really? His unease over Carter's award had sent him to Teal'c and now he wasn't sure why he had made the trek. What was Teal'c going to say? That his feeling was stupid? Maybe he ought to think of a more important reason to bother Teal'c and take him away from his training session. Jack scrubbed his hand through his hair. "I just finished talking to Hammond," Jack began, hoping he'd come up with a compelling issue with which to discuss with the SGC's resident alien.

"He informed you of Major Carter's recognition."

How did the guy do that? Jack just nodded.

"You are unsure whether she merits this honor?"

That's what Daniel had asked, and it rankled Jack that they had gotten on the same page just by looking at his face. He needed to revisit his poker playing skills. "No, of course not."

"Her contribution was instrumental to the successful completion of our mission."

Contribution. And that was the piece of information that made everything fall into place for Jack with a dull thud. "You contributed to the successful completion of our mission, too, big guy. You fixed the tel'tak."

Teal'c bowed his head in acknowledgment. "As you contributed as well, O'Neill."

"Me?"

"You deactivated the nuclear device."

Jack had nearly forgotten about that, focusing as he now was on Carter's actions as the asteroid had hurtled toward Earth. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"As did DanielJackson."

"Yeah, Daniel." Daniel. He was the real problem. Jack knew that now, knew why he had first gravitated to the archaeologist's office after leaving Hammond's. "Gotta go now, Teal'c. Thanks for the chat."

Teal'c bowed his head again. "I am pleased to be of service to you again, O'Neill."

Was that a shadow of a smile around his lips? Jack just nodded his head back at the man and headed to his office. He needed to think.

The damned asteroid! It was still causing problems for them. When they had first been apprised of the situation, he had thought about leaving Daniel out of the mission. Daniel's ribs were still healing, and Hammond had thought that there was nothing that an archaeologist could contribute to the mission. An engineer was needed more. But Daniel had fought them tooth and nail about leaving him behind. SG-1 was a team, Daniel had argued, and Jack had capitulated. He was still feeling guilty about the replicator incident. The fact that Daniel had been separated from the rest of them had weighed heavily on him. Of course, having Daniel along on that little jaunt on Thor's ship had been out of the question. Daniel was recovering from surgery and there was no way Frasier was going to OK any activity. No, it was afterwards, when they had gated back to the SGC that weighed on him. Carter had made some sort of strange comment about him being eager to see Daniel again right before they had dialed home and finally got a lock. Her small attempt at humor had pissed him off to the extent that he had breezed right by Daniel as if he didn't exist. And that had set up the frost that had started to invade their friendship.

Jack had understood the deeper pain of Daniel's argument that he be allowed to be with his teammates on this mission to divert the asteroid. They had double teamed Frasier like the old pros they were and she had reluctantly agreed to sign off on Daniel's participation. Hammond hadn't put up much of a fight either, as Jack remembered it. Hammond rarely said no to Daniel. Janet had had the last word, however, making Jack promise all kinds of things on Daniel's behalf, most of which involved not letting Daniel do anything that would aggravate his dicey ribs. Unfortunately, no one informed the engineers about Daniel's condition. They lugged their equipment through the gate and on the long march to the damaged tel'tak while Daniel carried nothing. His early attempt to help lighten the load of one of the engineers was met with a stern glare from Jack and he hadn't offered his assistance again. It wasn't until they had nearly completed the repairs on the ship that Jack learned of the resentment the engineers had about that. Daniel was asleep in the co-pilot's chair when the engineers had felt it was safe enough to vent their anger about Daniel's apparent uselessness to the universe. Jack had finally ushered them aside and had straightened them out in no uncertain terms. How many others, Jack wondered, thought the same way that the engineers did? How many others were clueless to Daniel's contributions to the SGC? The vast majority of those who worked there didn't interact with Daniel very much if at all. As one engineer had sneered, the only thing Daniel had done was open the Stargate. God, as if that wasn't enough! Since then, everyone had felt sorry for him about Sha're, and that was about it to the relationship between Dr. Daniel Jackson and the SGC outside of the Archaeology and Linguistics Department. A kind of hopeless case kept on out of pity. Jack could feel his anger resurfacing just thinking about that conversation. Daniel Jackson, useless, "soft" scientist, occupying a space on the front line team he didn't deserve.

And now Carter was getting a medal for apparently single-handedly saving the planet from being destroyed by an asteroid. For being the brilliant scientist who made it all happen. Except Jack knew better. So did Teal'c and Daniel. And, damn it, so should Carter. It had been Daniel's idea to broaden the hyperphase bubble to include the asteroid and shift it into hyperphase. Oh, Carter had jumped onto his train of thought quickly enough, but she had been as stumped as he and Teal'c were before Daniel started talking. It was Daniel's unbelievably kick-ass brilliant idea that had saved Earth. And if they hadn't brought him with them, if they'd left him behind…

Jack shuffled the files he had sent to his office. They were the submitted reports on the mission to thwart Anubis' plan to destroy Earth with an asteroid. He had even requested Hammond's final submission. Jack read that one first. He was particularly looking at the part dealing with the hyperphase idea. Hammond's wording was "SG-1 decided to expand the hyperphase bubble to include the entire asteroid. Major Carter was able to work out the mathematics that enabled her to include the entire asteroid when she shifted the ship into hyperphase." Jack scrubbed his face with his hands. No question where Senator MacCauslin got his information. According to Hammond's report, Carter was the only one deserving of an award. Jack turned to Carter's report next. It took him a few minutes to wade through the physics of their situation to find what he was looking for. "Dr. Jackson and I discussed several options and shared them with Col. O'Neill. There was only one that had any hope of saving Earth, which was to put ourselves and the whole asteroid into hyperphase. Col. O'Neill ordered me to figure out how to accomplish it." She then went into more techno-speech about the physics and math on how to do it. Not an exact recounting of what happened, according to Jack's memory. He read Daniel's account next. It was just as he expected. "We discussed a number of alternatives. We decided to try to extend the hyperphase 'bubble' around the entire asteroid and put us all out of phase. Sam did an unbelievable job figuring out all the math on how to do it, with help from Jack and Teal'c." Jack hadn't remembered that, but he had. He had done some preliminary calculations for Carter. Teal'c had contributed much more, having knowledge of the tel'tak's operating systems that had proved invaluable and had saved them a lot of time. God, Daniel never missed an opportunity to highlight his teammates' abilities and downplay his own. Daniel hardly ever wrote "I" in his reports. It was always "we," unless it was to stress that some mistake was totally his responsibility and his team had nothing to do with it. Maybe Teal'c's summary would mention that it was Daniel's idea that had saved them all, but he wasn't optimistic. Teal'c's reports mimicked his speech-extremely terse. Ah, there it was: "It was decided to put the meteor into hyperphase. This proved successful." No medals for anyone according to his depiction of events. Finally, Jack opened his own report. He couldn't remember what he had written. Surely he had given Daniel his propers, right? "Maj. Carter and Dr. Jackson bandied about some ideas, none of which were too promising, until this supposedly "crazy" one was proposed. Being SG-1, we went for crazy. Maj. Carter figured out the calculations, and we literally went through the planet and popped out on the other side." Jack hung his head. He hadn't gotten it exactly right either. Then he gathered up all the files, dropped them off at records, and headed for Hammond's office.

The General ushered him in with a wave of his hand. "What can I do for you, Colonel?" He didn't bother to look up from the folder he was reading.

Jack shifted uneasily. "It's about Major Carter's medal, sir."

That got the General's attention. He motioned for Jack to sit down, closed the folder, and clasped his hands together, now all ears. Jack shifted in his chair.

"This medal. I'm not so sure it's a great idea."

"Why is that?"

"These kinds of things, well, they can be divisive."

"Do you have any indication that this will be the case in this instance?"

"Well, no. Just a gut instinct."

"Colonel, we already went over this. Is there something else I should know about?"

Jack took in a deep breath. He could sense Hammond bracing himself for some unwelcome news. "No, nothing dire, sir. It's just that it was Dr. Jackson's idea to jump into hyperphase and take the asteroid with us."

"And you think he's upset that Major Carter is receiving a medal for his idea?"

"Well, he says he isn't, but it would get under your skin a little, wouldn't it?"

General Hammond relaxed. Apparently, he wasn't as concerned with this as Jack was. "Do you think Dr. Jackson will resent Major Carter?"

Jack took a few seconds to reflect on that. Heck, it rankled him and he wasn't even involved very much. But Daniel? He shook his head. "No, that's not Daniel's style. He's always supportive of Carter even when she steals his glory."

"Then I fail to see the problem, Colonel."

Jack blew out the breath he was holding and told the General of the engineers' conversation in the tel'tak, ending with "Daniel doesn't seem to receive the recognition he should around this place. It feels like he's getting shafted again."

"I had no idea he came up with the solution to the asteroid problem."

"You mean crisis, sir. Crisis. Earth was almost history. And this isn't the first time he's saved us."

"You mean the attack by Apophis."

Jack nodded. "If he hadn't have fought so hard for us to go to that gate address, we'd all be toast or hosts. I was ready to give it all up and retire to Minnesota when Kinsey shut us down. Daniel said he'd go alone, but he was going to do all he could to stop an attack on Earth. Teal'c would have probably gone with him, but it took some doing to convince Carter and me. But you know how he can be, General, like a dog with a bone." Jack lost himself in the memory of that AWOL mission. The sight of Daniel lying up against a bulkhead with half his chest blown away always lingered.

"I wasn't aware of his part in that stage of the operation, Colonel."

"Yeah, I know. I've been rereading the reports on the asteroid mission, sir. It's come to my attention that we never credit Daniel for the brilliant ideas he has or the brilliant way he makes friends of alien peoples. Lord knows, he never says anything in his own reports that make you think he's done anything anyone else couldn't have done as well or better. But he's wrong."

"I know that, Jack. No other SG team has the rate of success that SG-1 has in making new allies."

"It's mostly, if not all, due to Daniel Jackson, sir."

Hammond chuckled slightly. "I think you and Major Carter and Teal'c also have a hand in it."

Jack shook his head. "No, it's Daniel, sir. Carter's always more interested in finding any technology, and Teal'c makes sure they don't start shooting us first. Hell, I say the wrong things nine times out of ten. But Daniel has this way with people. He is really interested in them, as people—their culture and their history. They sense that, and that has saved our asses a lot of times. But he never receives any praise for it."

Hammond frowned. "I remember saying 'good job' more than a time or two, Colonel."

"I know, sir, and I thank you for that, but it never seems to leave the briefing room. Hell, he saves us from Apophis, almost dying in the process, and _I_ receive a medal for it."

Hammond sighed. "I know you never liked Teal'c and Dr. Jackson not getting the recognition they deserved for that mission. I explained it to you then that.."

"I know. They're not military and it was a military award," Jack interrupted him. "And this medal for Carter isn't any kind of real award either. It's something this Senator dreamed up in order to see the Stargate, I think. But, General, the entire SGC will be there to watch her receive it. No one watches you tell Daniel 'good job, Dr. Jackson.'"

Hammond steepled his fingers together on his desk. "Colonel…Jack, what do you want me to do about this? The ceremony is a few days away. All the arrangements have been made. All of the decisions have been made by Senator MacCauslin and the Pentagon. I'm just carrying them out. Besides, you said Dr. Jackson wasn't upset about this."

Jack ran a hand through his hair. What did he want? He wanted everyone in the SGC, hell, the world to know how damned brilliant Daniel Jackson was. But he couldn't say that to the General. Now he was regretting coming here in the first place. What was he doing? Rhapsodizing about Daniel? Where did that come from? Leftover guilt from the Revanna debacle? Finally he settled on, "We need to do a better job of recognizing our own people, sir, especially our civilians, since the outside world doesn't even know we exist."

Hammond pursed his lips. "I'll take that under advisement, Colonel." He grabbed his folder again, his usual non-verbal way of declaring that the conversation was over.

Jack rose to leave. "Thank you, sir."

"And Colonel," Hammond stopped him before he was out the door, "it seems to me that some teams could also be more thorough and do a better job of assigning that praise in their reports."

"Point taken, sir."

After a very therapeutic bout in the gym, Jack returned to his office. Sorting through the mail, a fancy envelope dropped out of pile. Jack groaned. Tearing it open, he discovered it was just as he suspected—a formal invitation to a formal dinner after the awards ceremony and reception. This ceremony was taking on a life of its own. Jack grabbed it and went up to Carter's lab.

He sauntered in. "Carter. You have any idea what this is all about?" He waggled the envelope in front of her face.

"Oh! You got the invitation!" Major Samantha Carter was positively beaming. "The Senator wanted to treat us all to dinner."

"Hmmpft." Jack grunted. "Sounds more like he wanted to make more work for us. We have to pull out all the stops and deck out the commissary for him. The cook staff is going to love that. No wonder Hammond was in such a good mood this morning."

She noticeably deflated. "Is the General unhappy, sir?"

"No, no, Major." He felt suddenly guilty for spoiling her day. "We're all glad to help out. Nothing like some rubber chicken and leaden mashed potatoes to raise everyone's spirits."

She laughed, and he felt better.

"I could request the rice, if you'd like, sir."

"And deprive me of a potato brick in my stomach? Don't touch the mashed potatoes."

She grinned at him again.

"Carter, you okay with all this attention?"

She tucked an errant wisp of hair behind her ear. "I didn't ask for this, sir."

"Oh, I'm well aware of that, Major." He swallowed hard. This was for Dr. Jackson, but he wasn't sure how to broach the subject. If it ever got back to Daniel that he was talking about it to her, Daniel would have his hide and then some. "It's just that SG-1 Is a _team_…" He let the rest of the sentence fade away.

She frowned as she tried to figure out where he was going with it. "Should I tell the Senator to include you in the ceremony, sir?"

What was wrong with his people? Why did they all think that he was angling for an award? "No! I don't care about stuff like that."

"Yes, sir." Now she sounded confused. She stared at him for a long moment and then said, "Was there something else you wanted, sir?"

"No, no." he reassured her. "Just wanted to say just how much I'm looking forward to this dinner."

She smiled at his sarcasm.

"And to remind you that we're a _team_."

"Yes, sir. I won't forget, sir."

Jack left her lab feeling better, even though he didn't know exactly why.

Jack gave his collar a slight tug and glanced to his left. Dr. Daniel Jackson looked absolutely striking in a dark blue suit with a light blue shirt and striped tie in different shades of blue. Teal'c was to the left of Daniel, looking smart in his forest green turtleneck and dark brown suit. Carter and Frasier must have taken them both shopping. Jack smirked. That must have been a fun afternoon for the guys. Carter stood to his right in her Class A's, her father standing to her right in a black suit, thank God, rather than his Tok'ra leathers.

Hammond entered the 'Gate room and Jack snapped the military people into attention. Teal'c's back was rigid, and Daniel straightened up a bit from his usual slouch. Hammond was followed by someone Jack presumed was Senator MacCauslin and his entourage. Quite a slew of them. They arranged themselves around the back of the 'Gate room, where there was a bit of room among the Air Force, Army, and Marine personnel.

Hammond took his place behind the podium on the ramp to the Stargate. MacCauslin walked up with him, along with a couple of Secret Service-looking dudes. The general cleared his throat and after a few terse remarks as to why everyone was assembled, turned the ceremony over to MacCauslin. Jack was very interested as to why the general didn't order them to parade rest. It was no hardship. He could stand at attention for as long as it took.

The Senator took out a few sheets of paper and Jack's hopes of a quick out took a nose dive. The Senator made a show of putting on his reading glasses and smoothing out his speech.

"Today we are gathered here to celebrate a great feat. The fact that we are even here to celebrate at all is due to a very special person. I became aware of Major Samantha Carter's amazing accomplishment from my very good friend, the President, who is very sorry he could not be with us today. As an amateur astronomer, I had alerted the President of what I thought was our impending doom. He assured me that the military was in the process of taking care of the problem. When the disaster was averted, I was informed that one of the people responsible had been born in the great state of Virginia. As I investigated further, the President made me privy to this great endeavor and to the contributions of this remarkable Air Force Major. Not only did Major Samantha Carter save this planet from an asteroid impact, she was responsible for opening the Stargate."

Jack kept his eyes forward as he tried with all his might with his peripheral vision to catch a glimpse of Daniel's response to that pronouncement. From what he could see, Daniel's only reaction was to shift his weight onto his other foot. The murmur from the gaggle of academics from the Archaeology and Linguistics Department, however, was audible.

The Senator droned on. "And this wasn't the first time she's saved the planet. When this planet was approached by enemies bent on our destruction, she convinced her colleagues on SG-1 to gate to the enemy ship and destroy it."

Jack knew that was also wrong, but only SG-1 knew the real story and now Hammond, of course. No, check that. He remembered telling some of the other squad leaders about Daniel's tenacity about them going to the co-ordinates he had brought back from the alternate reality at a poker game at his house. Ferretti had been there. Being the gossip-monger he was, Ferretti would have spread it around. There was a derisive cough from the direction of the academic circle and more buzzing. Jack couldn't see Daniel's face, but he did notice Daniel's hand clench into a fist.

"And now she has saved the planet again with her brilliant idea to send a meteor bound for Earth's annihilation out of phase, which I am told means that the thing just passed right through us!" He paused for dramatic effect. All he was met with was the A and L guys muttering furiously.

Jack wondered if any of them would have the nerve to speak up and correct the man; they all idolized Daniel, especially Nyan. Daniel had argued ferociously that Nyan be able to live off base once he had acclimated to Earth culture. Heck, he had even found the kid his apartment and helped him move in.

Daniel's fist was now jammed into his pocket. Jack wished he could see his face.

Confused at the near silence, the senator said, "How about a round of applause?"

Jack continued to make his face completely neutral. Did this guy know anything? They were at attention, for Christ's sake.

There was a round of polite applause from the civilians; not what the senator had expected. He shifted in his stance and then resolutely continued on with the history of his idea of the medal and an overlong detailed description of it. Even Jack's stamina and patience was wearing thin by the time the senator finally wrapped things up.

"But enough of me," MacCauslin said (and Jack had to agree). "Let's get our woman of honor up here! General, if I could ask for your assistance?"

MacCauslin was trying to open an ornate box. Hammond leaned in to the podium microphone and said, "At ease," as he held the bottom of the box so that MacCausllin could get the top off. Jack's heart beamed with pride as the shift from attention to parade rest was made almost silently. The men and women of the SGC were the best of the best.

"Major Samantha Carter, would you join us at the podium, please?" MacCauslin asked when he had wrestled the medal out of the box.

Carter walked up the ramp looking like the impeccable officer she was. Jack was damned proud to have her as his second-in-command. She let MacCauslin put the medal around her neck and stepped up to the podium as the SGC applauded their approval.

"I just want to thank Senator MacCauslin for this honor. It's an honor to work with everyone here at the mountain." Carter paused and Jack was fervently wishing she would acknowledge in front of the entire base that it had been Daniel's idea. She looked at him and he raised an eyebrow. It seemed she had caught his drift. Remember, _team_. "And it's also an honor to be on SG-1. Thank you."

There was more applause. Hammond dismissed them to begin the reception, and the podium party began to move down the ramp. And there was Dr. Daniel Jackson rushing up to congratulate her and envelop her in a big hug. Jack shouldn't have been surprised at the archaeologist's generosity of spirit, but he always was. The tension seemed to ease in the room and Carter was soon engulfed by well wishers. It didn't take her too long, though, to make it to where he was standing.

"Congratulations, Major," Jack said as he shook her hand. "Well deserved."

"Thank you, sir." She looked at him as if he should say something more. "Was it okay, sir?" she finally asked, although Jack knew she was asking whether _she_ was okay.

"Brevity is always appreciated," he replied. When her face fell slightly, he added, "You did fine, Carter." That won him a smile.

Then Jacob was there pulling her away, and Jack was left to his disappointment that she hadn't acknowledged the contributions of her team, most notably Daniel's. He wouldn't let it gnaw at him, especially not after Daniel's gracious display of support, but it was just too bad.

The reception was in full swing when Jack noticed that Senator MacCauslin was taking special delight in talking to Teal'c. Nothing like being the resident alien to make you the most popular person at this dance. Given that Teal'c was not one for small talk, the interaction was more an interrogation than a conversation, but MacCauslin didn't seem put off by Teal'c's terseness. It probably only made him seem more extraterrestrial and exotic. Jack surveyed the room, but he couldn't find Daniel. His department had swirled around him fairly quickly once the reception had started, and Jack hadn't gotten to speak with him. He ran into the General at the punch bowl.

"Everything seems to be going smoothly," Hammond said.

"Yes, sir."

"The Senator seems quite taken with Teal'c."

Well, you know Teal'c, sir, all that charisma."

The General almost lost his last sip of punch at that one. Once recovered, he said, "Dr. Jackson seemed all right with the ceremony."

"That's because he didn't have to stand at attention all the way through it. Going for a world's record, sir?"

Hammond snickered. "The Senator's request. He thought it would seem more professional that way."

Jack rolled his eyes. "How in hell did the President even authorize any of this? For a top secret facility, there's a lot of non-locals here, if you get my drift."

"Basically, he blackmailed the President into telling him. The President seemed too embarrassed to tell me the details. The Senator's signed the non-disclosure form."

"And the small army he brought with him?"

"Is made up of Pentagon and secret service people who have been here before with either Kinsey or the President. They've all been vetted."

"Well, I guess that's something. If you'll excuse me, sir, I think it's time to rescue Teal'c from death by chit chat."

Jack maneuvered Teal'c away by claiming to need his help and the Senator turned his attention to Carter and her father. Jack wondered what the politician would do if he ever found out he was talking to another alien. He was very tempted to introduce MacCauslin to Selmak.

"In what way do you wish my help, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"I don't need your help. It just looked like you needed a break from motor mouth there."

Teal'c inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Indeed. I fear politicians are the same throughout the galaxy."

"Yeah, the one constant you can count on in the universe. Hey, have you seen Daniel since the reception began?"

"I saw him earlier, but I do not see him now. Do you wish me to summon him for you?"

"No, no. I'll catch him later at dinner."

"Will you be accompanying us to dinner? DanielJackson has not mentioned it."

Jack frowned at him. "No, at the dinner after this reception."

"We did not receive an invitation to that dinner."

"What?" Jack's raised voice caused many to turn and look at him. He glared back, daring anyone to say something. "We're SG-1. We're a _team._ We're the team who saved the planet, for God's sake," he said in a more subdued tone. "There must be some mistake. Wait here."

Jack strode back over to Hammond, who was talking to Col. Reynolds. "General? A moment, please, sir?"

Hammond dismissed Reynolds, and with an almost audible sigh, turned to Jack. "Something else, Colonel?"

"Teal'c just informed me that he and Daniel weren't invited to the dinner, sir. I'm assuming that was a mistake."

"No mistake, Colonel. The Senator wanted only Pentagon and military people at the dinner, and even then, no one below the rank of captain."

"And Major Carter agreed to this?"

"I don't think she was consulted on the matter, as you were not. Shall I expect a scene, Colonel?"

"No, of course not, sir. I was just very surprised that all of SG-1 wasn't invited. After all, all of SG-1 saved the planet."

"I agree, Jack, but as I told you before, I'm not in charge of this rodeo. MacCauslin is. Put on your good little soldier face and deal with it, Colonel."

Jack slunk back to where Teal'c was, exactly in the spot where he had left him. "That idiot MacCauslin wants only military people."

"I was aware, O'Neill."

"Of course you were," Jack sulked.

"Would you like to accompany DanielJackson and me to dinner?"

"You're going off base?"

"Indeed. DanielJackson said we could not be all dressed up with no place to go, so he decided we should go."

"Where are you going?"

"Luigi's, I believe."

"Ah, food worthy of the good looking suits. I wish I could join you, but after that big stink I made with the General about you not being invited, he'd bust me down to airman if I skipped out. You guys have a good time."

"We will, O'Neill. I believe we will have a far more pleasant dinner than you." Teal'c bowed slightly and walked away.

Jack felt a twinge of jealousy. He loved Luigi's.

Jack couldn't believe it. Not only was he not seated at the head table, he had been assigned to the back corner of the mess hall. You would think he wasn't the second in command of the entire operation and, even more importantly on this occasion, Major Carter's commanding officer. Perhaps Hammond had actually been concerned he might make a scene. All he could think about as he waded through his chicken and, yes, mashed potatoes was the fabulous Italian meal Daniel and Teal'c were having. When it was clear he wasn't going to be asked to say a few words about Carter, he ducked out. That was one good thing about being seated in the back.

Luigi's was full but not crowded and Jack easily found Teal'c and Daniel. Daniel waved him over and Jack dropped into their booth with a relieved sigh. "Glad you spotted me."

Daniel gave him a smirk. "You're in dress uniform, Jack. Everyone in the restaurant spotted you."

"Were you not dining at the mountain, O'Neill?" Teal'c was wearing the brown sweatband that perfectly matched his skin tone. It covered the tattoo and was nearly invisible even from a short distance away. Jack had been quite proud of that find at the sporting goods store.

"I, uh, left a bit early."

"Sorry, Jack. We've had dinner. Now we're just waiting on my coffee and dessert."

"That's okay. I had dinner, too. At least they called it dinner."

That got a wry smile out of Daniel. An attentive waiter hustled over and inquired about a drink as he placed a glass of water on the table. Jack ordered three brandies and requested an extra dessert plate. "Well, what are we having for dessert?" he asked as he dropped the napkin on his lap and picked up his fork.

"I'm having Death by Chocolate. I don't know what you're having."

"T?"

"Lemon chiffon sorbet."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Death by Chocolate it is, then."

Jack let Daniel eat half his dessert before he swooped in for a bite. He wasn't surprised Daniel made no move to stop him: the dessert was a dense, dark chocolate concoction. No way could Daniel eat all of it after a generous entree at Luigi's.

"The Senator's speech was inventive," Jack said as they were sipping the last of their brandies. It was clear Teal'c wasn't going to finish his. After all the weird stuff Teal'c had probably eaten in his lifespan, Jack was surprised at his dislike for alcohol. Teal'c had taken a sip in polite acknowledgment of Jack's generosity, but the rest of it sat untouched.

"Is that what it was?" Daniel gave him a look that said "drop it," which made Jack want to pursue it more than ever.

"Of what do you speak, O'Neill?"

"Well, he got a lot of things wrong, didn't he, Daniel?"

"Not according to the revisionist history of Samantha Carter." Daniel gave the brandy in his glass one last swirl and downed it.

So, not as egoless and self-effacing as was thought. Jack was glad of it. It made Daniel just as human as the rest of them, something Jack had always suspected. Nothing like an excellent meal and a little alcohol to dim the glow of sainthood.

At Teal'c's raised eyebrow, Jack said in a low voice, "It was Daniel here, not Carter, who solved the mystery of the gate. As you know, it was Daniel, not Carter, who persuaded us to go on that mission that saved billions of people and Daniel, not Carter, who had the brilliant idea about the asteroid, right?"

"Indeed."

"Then let's drink to Dr. Daniel Jackson for his past and future ideas." Jack raised his snifter, happy that Teal'c also raised his.

Daniel could only sit there, red-faced, as Jack and Teal'c drank in honor of him. Jack finished off his brandy highly satisfied.

There was a tentative knock on the door frame. Jack looked up from the personnel files he was reading to see Carter standing timidly in the door. He had kept his office door open to invite interruptions to his tedious task, but Carter was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. He waved her in.

"What can I do for you, Major?" He continued to peruse the file of Captain What's-his-name, hoping she would get the hint and make it quick.

No such luck. She closed the door behind her. He put the file down and motioned her to a chair.

"I'm not really sure how to start," she stammered.

Then don't. "Go on, Carter, spit it out."

"I wonder if…Colonel, have you noticed other people acting a little strange around me lately?"

"Strange?"

She shifted uneasily in her chair. "People avoiding me, actually glaring at me, whispering behind my back, stopping their conversations if I walk up to them."

Yes. "No."

"I was just wondering whether you knew what was going on. Have I done something wrong?"

"Carter, you know I'm not good at this kind of thing. You should ask Teal'c. He knows all the base gossip."

"I did, sir. He told me to ask you."

Great. Teal'c was throwing him under the bus now. "How long have you noticed this behavior happening?"

"For about a week now. It started right after I got my medal, sir."

"Okay. So, it might have something to do with that?"

She scrunched up her face. "I thought of that, sir, but I can't think of anything weird that happened at the ceremony."

Jack wanted this conversation to be over, and he didn't want to just come out and tell her. Carter was a sharp cookie. She needed to figure this out on her own. "I'm sure Siler made a tape of the ceremony. Maybe you should look at it and see if you can find anything." He picked up his file again. Hell, if Hammond could use it as a conversation stopper, so could he.

Apparently, he wasn't Hammond. Carter stayed where she was and again shifted in her chair. Oh boy, this was not going to be a good day.

"May I ask you a more personal question, sir?"

No. "Go ahead. Let's get this all out of your system."

"Well, it's just that Dad noticed you left before the end of the banquet…" She looked at him with huge, begging eyes.

Think fast, O'Neill. "I had a previous engagement." Nice save, Jack, old boy! His thoughts briefly strayed to that night. After Luigi's, they had gone to a jazz club Teal'c had been curious to experience. The quartet had been very good. It had been one of the best evenings he'd spent in recent memory. He had even sort of flirted with Daniel and Daniel had given back as good as he got. It had given Jack hope that his and Daniel's friendship could be repaired.

"Oh." She sounded subdued, disappointed.

"Anything else, Major?" He waved his file at her.

Now Carter got the message. Yep, she was a sharp cookie. "No, sir. Thank you, sir."

She left and closed his door behind her. Jack sighed. No more distractions this afternoon, then.

Several hours later, Jack stopped by Carter's lab and saw her peering intently at her computer screen.

"Anything interesting, Major?"

"I'm just looking over the tape of the medal ceremony, sir."

Jack scrubbed a hand over his face. He'd stepped into it again. "Shouldn't you be experimenting or something?"

"My data results won't be available for another hour or so, sir." She sat back in frustration. "I can't find anything wrong in this tape, sir."

He should tell her to let it go. It would all blow over in another week or so when something new would hit the gossip grapevine. But he just couldn't tell her to forget it. She needed to figure out what was wrong. This one was for Daniel.

"I don't think I said anything wrong in my speech. There was a slight hesitation before I thanked SG-1, sir. Could that have been it?"

"A slight hesitation?" He looked at her incredulously.

"And here," she pointed to the tape. "I moved slightly when I was at attention. Could that be it?"

Jack peered at the screen. All one could see of Carter was from the back, shoulders on up. Maybe there had been a brief twitch, but you had to be really looking for it. "Major, I don't think this would cause the behavior you described."

"Then I don't know what is, sir. I've looked at myself over and over, and I just don't see anything."

Well, that was it right there. It was like a whole metaphor or whatever of who Carter was. The ultra-perfectionist. Always watching and analyzing herself. Her ability to be totally absorbed by a problem was enviable, except when the subject of that absorption was herself. Yeah, she could be a little, no a lot, self-absorbed.

"Why don't you take a look at the whole ceremony, Major?"

She squinted her eyes at him. "Do you know what the problem is, sir?"

He shook his head. "I'm just suggesting that maybe it wasn't what you said or did." And with that, he made a hasty retreat out of her lab.

The next day Jack was doing his daily check-in with his team. Daniel called it his daily annoying of his team, but, hey, a commanding officer had to be informed at all times. He was a bit frustrated because Teal'c was neither in his room nor at the gym and Daniel was in a briefing with SG-6. He stuck his nose into Carter's lab. Ah, there was Teal'c standing behind her chair as she once again was peering intently into the computer screen.

Jack gave Teal'c a "what's up?" waggle of his eyebrows and Teal'c answered with a "I don't want to be here, but I believe it is my duty" glare. This wasn't good.

"What're you up to, Major?" Jack tried to sound cheery.

"Sir, I thought Teal'c might be able to catch something on this tape of the ceremony," she said not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Anything?" he asked Teal'c.

"I have been unable to assist MajorCarter with this endeavor."

Of course, he had. He and Teal'c had discussed the situation before Jack had left the base last night. Jack had gone to lecture an unrepentant Teal'c about throwing his CO under the bus. They had agreed that Carter should figure out this puzzle on her own. That way she wouldn't immediately retreat into a defense of herself.

"I will leave you to assist MajorCater," Teal'c said as he gave a small nod of his head and walked out the door. Apparently, Jack's lecture on CO under bus throwing had not been successful.

He sighed. This was going to end today. "What are you looking at, Carter?"

"Right now I'm looking at Senator MacCauslin's entrance into the embarkation room."

Jack tried hard not to roll his eyes. "Maybe you need to be more logical about this."

"Sir?"

Jack ignored the surprise in her voice. "I remember some rumbling from the peanut gallery during the Senator's speech. Maybe we should start there."

"Rumbling, sir?" She was already forwarding it to the beginning of MacCauslin's remarks.

"Yeah. Maybe we should listen for it."

She started the tape at normal speed, and Jack was sorry he suggested this. It had been bad enough to listen to the speech the first time around. MacCauslin got to the part where he said Carter opened the gate, and she went right through it, even though Jack thought the sputtering from the A&L guys was clearly audible. Jack knew all about her contribution to opening the Stargate, being part of the crew that had gotten the thing hooked up and spinning, but it was common knowledge at the SGC that the person who unlocked the mystery of the Stargate was Daniel Jackson. Jack had been there; he knew. They all had bupkis until Daniel solved the glyphs.

He let the tape drone on until the remark about the mission to stop Apophis. Again, Carter let the tape continue even though Nyan's or whoever's derisive cough could be heard.

"There. Right there," Jack said.

Carter stopped the tape. "Sir?"

"Didn't you hear the cough and mutterings, Major?"

She rewound the tape and started it again. "I heard the cough…"

"See what was said right before it."

She ran it again. "Oh. He said I convinced us all to go on the AWOL mission."

"That's not how I remember it."

She sighed and looked exasperated at him, her glare clearly saying "just tell me."

"Think back. Who convinced who?"

Jack could see her thinking back and then the light bulb going on. She brightened. "You did, sir. You asked me whether I was in. Is that what this is all about? That you should have gotten a medal, too, sir?"

Jack didn't squelch his groan. "Carter, I don't want a damned medal!" Yes, he did. He'd grab that medal and shove it so far up Senator MacCauslin's ass… He calmed himself. "I didn't convince us all to go."

She bit her lip in thought again. "Daniel did. Daniel said he'd go by himself if we didn't go with him."

"Yeah." Jack rewound the tape to MacCauslin's first gaffe. "And who opened the Stargate, Major?" He replayed that part.

Carter blushed. "Daniel did," she said quietly.

"And who had the idea to put the asteroid into hyperphase?"

"I did."

"That's not how I remember it. Or Teal'c." Time to throw the Jaffa under the bus. He needed the numbers—two memories against hers.

She thought back. "Daniel," she conceded. "Is he mad at me?"

"Daniel? Never. He's pleased as punch for you."

The penny dropped. "It's just the rest of the base that's mad at me for him."

Yep, one smart cookie, his 2IC. "That would be my guess, Major. I guess they were waiting for you to set the Senator straight, and when you didn't…" He let the rest of the sentence run off. "What were you thinking when you heard him make these mistakes?"

"I wasn't thinking anything, sir." There it was—the defensive tone in her voice. "I didn't even hear the speech. I was so worried that I was going to get nauseous and hurl in front of everyone. And Dad was standing right there beside me. He would be so embarrassed, you would be so embarrassed, and I would be really embarrassed. The whole speech just went in one ear and out the other. I wasn't listening to it at all," she said miserably.

Jack felt a thrill of sympathy for her. How many times had he stood at attention his mind on anything other than what nonsense was causing him to stand at attention? More times than he had fingers.

"What should I do, sir?"

Carter was a brilliant scientist, but handling human relationships wasn't her forte.

"I don't know. Think about it. I know you'll do the right thing." And she would, too.

"I'm going to apologize to Daniel right now."

"He's not even upset with you."

"It doesn't matter. I still need to apologize to him."

Jack didn't argue with her about it any further. They walked down to Daniel's lab and Jack was hoping he'd still be in SG-6's briefing, but no such luck. Daniel was hunched over his desk, eyes flicking between a book and the computer screen. Jack didn't go in. If he did, Daniel would immediately infer Jack had put her up to it and would blame him for it. That didn't mean he wasn't curious. He settled himself by the doorway and out of Daniel's sight lines.

"Daniel!"

"Sam! Hi….umphf." Jack imagined Daniel engulfed in a huge Sam hug. "Wha…?"

"Oh, God, Daniel. I'm so sorry I haven't said something sooner to you. I'm just so sorry about everything."

"What are you talking about? Here, sit down." It sounded like Daniel was maneuvering them both to the couch in his office. "Now, what are you apologizing for?"

"For not saying anything at my medal ceremony."

"Did Jack put you up to this?"

Don't say 'yes,' Carter.

"No. I finally figured it out on my own."

Good girl, Carter! His 2IC knew better than to throw her CO under the bus. Best of the best!

"Senator MacCauslin said all those wrong things, and I didn't even do anything about it."

"It wasn't your place to correct him, Sam. You wouldn't embarrass him like that. Everything's good."

"No, it isn't. I should give my medal to you. You're the one who really saved Earth."

"Don't be ridiculous, Sam. It's your medal. You figured out how to put my wacky idea into motion. I didn't have a clue how to do it."

"No, I mean it. I'm going to give the medal to you. You deserve it more than me."

"That's crazy. I wouldn't take it if you did give it to me, which you won't. I don't want anyone to ever give me medals."

"Why not? You more than anyone here deserve one, deserve twenty!"

Jack was interested to know the answer to that one himself. Daniel always seemed leery of awards and medals.

Daniel seemed to take some moments to contemplate his answer. When he began to speak again, Jack could hardly hear him.

"Because it's never just me, Sam. There are so many people that factor into any success I have. Without Jack and Teal'c disarming the bomb and fixing the tel'tak, we wouldn't have even been alive to figure out a solution."

"You're right. The Colonel knew it, too. He kept telling me that we're a team, but I didn't really hear him. I was too busy wrapped up in my own head. I've been too self-centered with all of this."

Carter, one sharp cookie. Jack was about to walk away, mission accomplished, when Daniel started speaking again, more loudly and with more confidence than before.

"It's not just SG-1. It's all of us here. Everyone does his job, and because of that, we can do what we do. When I go to pack my backpack, the stuff is always there, but someone has to keep track of all of that. When I go to the armory, the guns are always there, clean and ready to go. Siler keeps this place running. The electricity is always on, the vents are pushing air into the place and carbon monoxide out. There's food when I want to eat. After a mission, there's always fresh towels and uniforms for me in the locker room. Someone has to do all the laundry. And lots more help is needed in the infirmary. Some of the hazardous crud we bring back from other planets…who handles that? We just throw our clothes into a bin. I don't think about the people who have to deal with our slime, but someone has to. The bathrooms are always clean…"

"Daniel, I get your point" Carter interrupted him.

Jack stood there shame-faced. He never had thought much about all that had to happen at the SGC to make it run. Lower ranked people dealt with those kinds of mundane and not-so-mundane details. He usually only had to deal with the heads of the departments, leaving it up to them to run them as they saw fit. But Daniel was right, there were a lot of "little people" who never received any acknowledgement. Some people who worked there didn't even know about the Stargate or what the mission of the SGC was really about.

"We're all on the SGC team, Sam."

"So, you won't take the medal."

Daniel gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Hell, no. You keep it." Then he paused as if he realized what he had just said. "You deserve it, Sam. You really do."

"Uh-huh," she said rather dubiously, and then there were rustling sounds like they were rising from the couch.

Jack beat it from the hallway. No way he was going to have either of them catch him eavesdropping.

There was a small knot of people gathered around the east wall of the commissary. Jack ambled over to see what the fuss was about. Everyone made room for the 2IC of the SGC and Jack smiled. Rank had its privileges. On the wall was a shallow shadow box. Inside was Carter's medal draped around a letter.

"To everyone at the SGC,

I am not the only person to deserve this medal. It rightly belongs to every man and woman who works at Stargate Command. None of us can do our jobs without the help from each other, from security, maintenance, administrative, and food service to the scientists, medical staff, and field units. The successful diversion of the latest threat was a result of all of our efforts working in concert. So this medal belongs to everyone here at Stargate Command, whose existence was made possible by the brilliance of one Doctor Daniel Jackson.

Sincerely,

Samantha Carter, Ph.D.

Major, USAF

Jack felt a rush of pride go through him. The major had done herself proud. True, it was building on Daniel's idea, but maybe that's just how SG-1 worked. Daniel would be horrified to see that she had singled him out, but he'd have to learn how to deal with that. Jack would help him.

God, he loved his team.


End file.
